Governance

The MKO First Nations envision the continuing exercise of an Indigenous sovereignty that includes self-government, autonomous institutions and stewardship and governance of a territorial land and resource base that is of sufficient size and richness to maintain and support cultural pursuits and ways of life and the extents of which are recognized by other Indigenous Nations and governments.

The MKO First Nations which entered into Treaty No. 4, Treaty No. 5, Treaty No. 6 and Treaty No. 10 with the Crown of Great Britain view these treaties as a formal recognition of the sovereign and exclusive authority of Indigenous Nations over ancestral lands and Peoples and as recognition that their villages and communities were distinct from the settlements of European entities.

First Nations leaders and the holders of oral history say that the treaties entered into between First Nations and the Europeans recognize that First Nations are sovereign nations capable of entering into international covenants. Furthermore, there is no historical record that First Nations in Canada or Manitoba ever surrendered Indigenous sovereignty as a part of any treaty or treaty negotiations.

The Manitoba Framework Agreement Initiative was drafted under the premise that the First Nations in Manitoba continue to exercise Indigenous sovereignty in the MKO First Nations and in the ancestral lands and traditional territories of the MKO First Nations. The text of the Framework Agreement supports the goal of establishing government structures and renewed assertion of the governing powers of First Nations in Manitoba which reflect the continuing exercise of Indigenous sovereignty.

The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, the Supreme Court of Canada, legislation by various levels of government, the “modern day treaties” and oral history held by First Nations Elders acknowledge and describe the continuing Indigenous sovereignty and laws of First Nations.

The foundation of First Nations governments is sustained by their spiritual relationship with nature and Customary and traditional laws which continue to exist. First Nations believe the source of their Indigenous sovereignty and governmental authority is derived from the Creator who bestows the ultimate legitimacy, and this authority cannot unilaterally be usurped by any outside regime.

MKO At A Glance

The legislative assembly of MKO consists of chiefs and councillors from 27 northern First Nations, who elect representatives from the assembly to serve as members of their Executive Council. The role of the executive council is to oversee the operations and programs being run by MKO are consistent with the vision of the assembly. This also includes ensuring that programs and services maintain transparency and legitimacy on behalf of the MKO assembly. The Grand Chief’s role is to work with all the chiefs in assembly and be a spokesperson to support local initiatives and projects that benefit individual nations and the MKO region as a whole.